Link: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/against-doomerism/

Doomerism, by its nature, is a reactionary concept. It's like those weirdos who reply to every funny story on the web with "didn't happen". An utter unwillingness to acknowledge that - yeah - some stuff happens. The world doesn't change as quickly as you'd like and politicians are never quite as brave in government as they are when campaigning - but stuff gets done!

this blog post is a month old, but i just saw it today and wanted to share it. i encourage anyone to read the whole thing, but i'll include out-of-order excerpts and my own commentary here.

There's a certain strain of commentator who is just sure that nothing can ever get better.

it's frustrating to hear the constant assertion of "nothing ever happens," when.. things do actually happen.

Doomerism always feels to me like a psyop designed to keep people dispirited. When everything is reduced to a "yeah, but they won't do anything" then you end up disenfranchising people.

i think there's a fear of "toxic positivity" from certain people, but toxic positivity is only toxic because it's passive, as if all wounds heal in time and require no effort on your own part, or that the status quo is good actually. doomerism is equally passive, "well it's all corrupt and beyond repair, so why bother?"

optimism is not passive. optimism means moving forward in the hope that things can be better and not just waiting for things to happen. maybe you think that's naive, but i'd rather be naive than a doormat.

terrence gives multiple examples of things actually happening, but you can read that on his own page, i'll close with this quote before i ramble too much.

Are there terrible things which need changing? Absolutely!

Are politicians doing everything that you specifically want? Probably not!

Are incremental changes happening if you bother looking for the evidence? Yes.

Why aren't these people looking at what is actually happening, reading about what is being tried, understanding what trade-offs are being considered? Is engaging with reality really that difficult?

I guess a nuanced or positive take doesn't get you as much social media engagement as a childish howl of rage.

things can be better

They certainly can. They can also get worse. Of course, "better" and "worse" are relative and subjective. Better (or worse) in what ways, compared to what and for whom?

Many people are already doing great. Their lives are very good overall and they're feeling pretty good about things. Others aren't doing as well. We can get an idea of where Americans are by, well, just asking them. Gallup did that last year. In that poll 44% of Americans said they were "very satisfied" with the way things are going in their personal life. Not a majority, but a plurality (although it's at its lowest point in about 25 years). Another 37% said they were "somewhat satisfied" with their personal life, while 9% said they were "somewhat dissatisfied" and 8% said they were "very dissatisfied."

I would guess that most of the pessimistic people we encounter are in the 17% of people who are either "somewhat" or "very" dissatisfied with their personal life. If your life isn't going great, I think you're more likely to feel pessimistic about the world generally. I think that's especially true if people are not only dissatisfied with their life but pessimistic that things in their personal life will get better.

Show me a "doomer" and I'll show you someone who is likely unhappy with their own life.

these are reasons not excuses. shaking your fist at the clouds or running back and forth flapping your hands screaming doesn't help anything. if we're dissatisfied, then good, that energy can be used in more productive ways. pessimism is complacency.